WS #12332

The US-Iran conflict is ESCALATING sharply. The US conducted a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, hitting bridges and an airport, while Iran retaliated by striking a power and desalination plant in Kuwait and launching ballistic missiles at a US airbase in Jordan. Iran's IRGC claimed two oil tankers hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz and exploded, though CENTCOM denied this. Shipping through Hormuz has nearly halted, with only 8 ships passing on July 16, down from 48 two weeks ago. Oil prices surged over 4% on Friday, with Brent settling at $88.10/bbl and WTI at $82.49, both up ~16% for the week. The Strait of Hormuz disruption is now a full-blown supply crisis, with Iran declaring the strait unsafe and effectively closed. This is driving energy stocks sharply higher and airlines/consumer stocks lower. Separately, Trump threatened new tariffs on Canada over wildfire smoke, adding trade uncertainty. The tech selloff deepened, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index entering bear market territory (down 20.2% from peak), led by AI-related stocks. Gold fell below $4,000 intraweek but recovered to $4,015, still down 2.6% for the week. The macro narrative is dominated by geopolitical risk and inflation fears, with oil spike as the primary market mover.